Metric teamed up with July Talk and set out on the Art of Doubt Tour. These guys are both very well known to be very dynamic and always put on a great show.
Murray Lightburn
They brought along Murray Lightburn to open up the night. Lightburn is well known for being the lead in the band The Dears and has been called “The Black Morrissey”. The Dears actually opened for Morrisey on his solo tour in 2006. He released a solo album titled Mass: Light in 2013 and his next is slated for some time this year.
Murray played an intimate acoustic set with nothing but a spot light on him. He even played his wife’s favorite song of the album who was joining him on the tour.
July Talk
Toronto natives, July Talk, were next on deck. This duo is well known to be very energetic on stage and always a blast. They released their first album with Sleepless Records which was self-titled “July Talk” and their second record “Touch” in 2016. Universal Music Group re-released July Talk in 2013 which later on went Gold and won a Juno for Alternative Album of the year in 2015.
They started out the night with Leah Fay providing us with a traditional Anishinaabe greeting. Leah started out was moving around the stage fluidly dancing and singing while Peter Dreimanis rocked out with his guitar and played the keyboard. They also took a moment to pay tribute to a departed friend of theirs. Leah jumped off the stage and interacted with the packed house several times. They played some of the best songs including “Picturing Love”, “Pay for it” and even finishing it all off with “Push + Pull”.
The combination of the two and their unique voices makes for a very fun show. They gave thanks to Ottawa and talked about even playing their first show here at Zaphods back in the day on the market. I became even more of a fan after seeing them live.
Metric
Up next we have Metric. Metric is also native to Toronto and have won several Juno’s and even opened for the likes of The Rolling Stones, Billy Talent, Muse and The Imagine Dragons. They formed back in 1998 under the name Mainstream but after releasing their debut self-titled EP they changed their name to Metric.
This tour is to celebrate their 7th studio album called the Art of Doubt. The stage kit is set with a section set out like as control center for Emily Haines and her synths. Their set opened with Dead and they continued on to play Twilight, Dressed and Monster before finishing up with Nonn.
They certainly put on an energetic show with amazing lights and a great stage presence. There is talk going around about people coming to see July Talk more so than Metric, but this show proves that they are worthy headliners. Teaming up with July Talk made for an amazing rock show that left everyone happy.
For a full album click the link below.
